Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

FAYETTEVILLE — The pressure Tom Collen felt was very real.

It wasn't pressure from the outside the Arkansas coach sensed. It was his own internal clock he heard ticking as he prepared for his fifth season as coach of the Arkansas women.

His first four seasons at Arkansas had ended without a trip to the NCAA tournament, an unfamiliar feeling for a coach who had reached the tournament seven of nine seasons at Colorado State and Louisville. When two assistants left after last season, Collen didn't have to look very far to find one of the replacements.

He went with the person he knew best — his wife, Nicki.

The Collens had worked together at his previous head coaching stops before Nicki Collen left the court six years ago to concentrate on raising their three young children.

"First, the logical thing was for me to go back to Nicki because of her expertise and she brought a lot to the program," Collen said. "No. 2, I knew she had my back. I wasn't going to somebody I didn't know. I don't think I could have turned to a better person or a better coach at that moment in time in order to feel like 'We were going to get this done now.' "

With their children becoming more independent every day — and with Tom Collen about to face his most critical season at Arkansas — Nicki Collen returned to the bench with her husband last July. The former Purdue and Marquette standout as a player was put in charge of the Razorbacks' defense, and her impact was immediate.

Arkansas (23-8) improved from 86th to 10th nationally in scoring defense this season, down from 59.3 points per game to 52. The improved defense resulted in a series of firsts for the Razorbacks, from an eight-game Southeastern Conference winning streak to the school's first victory at Tennessee.

It also resulted in a return to the NCAA Tournament for the relieved Collens and No. 6 seed Arkansas, which faces Dayton (23-6) in the first round in College Station, Texas, on Saturday.

"It wasn't just the coaching staff feeling a sense of urgency," Tom Collen said. "It was this group of players who knew, 'This is it for me.' I think we all felt that and we all got in the boat and started rowing in the same direction. And these are the results."

The players were somewhat familiar with Nicki Collen, having heard her encouragement — and criticism— above nearly everyone else in the stands in Bud Walton Arena. What they didn't know were her qualifications as a coach. In addition to her playing career in college and professionally in Greece, Collen had spent time on the bench at Colorado State, Ball State and Louisville.

"All I could remember from before was Coach Nicki was the one yelling at us in the stands like she's one of our parents, telling us what we're doing wrong," Arkansas senior Lyndsay Harris said.